Alex Clover and the Amelioratory Quest
by MetaMyriad
Summary: The year is 1991. Alex Clover, an orphaned girl, gets a letter telling her she's a witch, and is accepted at Hogwarts. But soon she discovers the truth; a different girl named Alex Clover was supposed to be the one to go. Refusing to turn back, Alex will do anything to stay. But how long can any Muggle - let alone a transgender eleven-year-old - avoid detection in Hogwarts?
1. 1 Alex Clover

It was close to midnight. Under her covers, face pushed into her pillow, Alex Clover was crying.

Alex Clover had many reasons to cry. Even more than other ordinary eleven-year-old girls, who were exceptionally well-known for crying. She could have cried because her parents had died four years ago. She could have cried about being sent to such a small orphanage. She could even have cried about the loneliness of being the only American in a British orphanage. But she wasn't crying about any of those things. She was crying about the one thing which had defined her existence for as long as she could remember. The single piece of her life which had continued to torment her even after the grief of loss had faded slightly. It was a truly terrible thing, and she wished it _weren't. _She wished so dearly that it weren't so important. But for some reason it _was _important, and loud, and it seemed to shout its existence

You see, Alex Clover was, truly, an ordinary eleven-year-old girl. She'd just had the bad luck to have been born as a boy.

Well, not truly a boy. But everyone who looked at her saw a boy, and so a boy was all they saw. She looked in the mirror and saw a boy, too. But she was quite sure that she was a girl. Her mother and father had tried dearly to understand, to help the child they loved. They'd made appointments with people who were supposed to help, even went as far as to move to England to consult with specific experts. Her hopes seemed to have died with them that day. No family stepped forward to claim her. Her parents had left her some money when they'd gone, but she was told she wasn't old enough to have it yet. So to the orphanage Alex Clover had been sent, to be cared for until the day she could leave. But she didn't think she'd ever make it that far. And the older she got, the more like a boy she seemed to look, the harder it was not to tell anyone, and the harder it was to stay strong. _I'm not strong,_ she thought, still crying. _I'm not strong, I'm not brave, I'm not - not much of anything…_

Alex Clover didn't know what she was going to do, so what she did was cry. She cried and cried, until finally her tears were stopped by sleep.

* * *

"Alex, is there something wrong?" Steven asked quietly over breakfast the next morning. He was Alex's roommate. "I heard you, last night. Are you okay?"

Alex tried to appear 'okay'. She shook her head, smiling. "I'm fine, Steven. Honest. Just, you know."

He nodded slightly. Orphanages weren't exactly known for happy stories, and _Mending Heart _was no different. "Yeah. Still, if you ever need to talk, just remember - we're mates, always." He grinned, then went back to tackling his stale toast.

Alex tried to keep smiling. Her mouth hurt, but she was used to it. _I'm fine. No, it's okay._ She said it often. She had to say something, had to keep her mouth occupied with speech, or else she knew she'd slip up and say the truth. _No, I'm not okay. I'm a girl. I'm a girl, and everyone thinks I'm a boy. Even when I grow my hair out. _She had, too, though it was a bit rough. sometimes she was 'mistaken' for a girl by strangers, and she treasured those moments. But Steven wasn't a stranger. He was her best friend. She sighed, and, glancing at Steven and seeing he was distracted reading another of his comics, she let her face fall. She tried to bite through her toast, but it was so stiff it cracked in the middle and fell apart. She left it alone, disgustedly. _I hate stiff toast._

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and glanced up. Sarah stood there. She was one of the caretakers. One of the good ones, too, though she had a bit of an irritating habit of interrupting people and sending them out on errands or chores.

"Alex, could you be a good lad and get the post today?" Sarah smiled.

Case in point. Alex sighed, standing up and abandoning her meal to Steven, who took it gladly. She went without too much fuss, though. It wasn't that she _minded_ the work. She was so bored most of the time that any distractions from her body's strangeness were welcome to her. She took a moment to recall where the mailbox was. Just outside, at the end of the drive - not an easy walk. _Mending Heart_ was a large orphanage with three floors, and she had to push by most of the other kids just to get out of the cafeteria. But push she did, and in a few minutes, she was at the front door, and in another moment, outside in the suburban sprawl. Well, it wasn't really a 'sprawl', but Alex liked the word, so she used it whenever she could. Sprawl. Sprawl. She grinned, then remembered what she was supposed to be doing.

She got to the mailbox and unlocked it. Her smile wavered as she noticed an odd woman standing expectantly a few feet away. She was small but plump, with strange clothes that had marked her as homeless to Alex at a distance. The odd woman was also staring at Alex in a way that made Alex very nervous. The nervousness became actual fear when the woman spoke.

"Alex Clover?"

Alex backed away, eyes shot open and as wide as they could go.

"Alex Clover?" she repeated. She reached out with her hand. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt-"

Alex ran back to and through the front door, screaming. She knew very well not to trust strangers. She was eleven. She wasn't going to talk to the scary strange maybe-murderous homeless woman. She ran all the way to the Headmaster's office, because that was the first place she could think of going. She hammered on the door. "Headmaster! Headmaster!" She yelled.

"Is that - Clover? Good heavens, what is it?" the Headmaster's voice called through the door. Alex turned the knob and ran inside -

\- only to scream and back out again.

There was the Headmaster, kind-faced man that he was, sitting behind his desk, and in front of the desk, in a chair, impossibly, was the same woman Alex had seen outside. "You can't-" she choked. "You were-"

"What's wrong, Clover?" He said, worried look on his face. "Do you need to see the nurse?"

Alex stuck her hand out, pointing accusatorially at the impossible woman. "You! _You!"_ Alex sputtered. She didn't know what to say. She had run all the way from the mailboxes to here without stopping. The woman had not only gotten here first, but from the looks of things, she had been speaking to the Headmaster before Alex had arrived. "How?!" Alex screeched, tears in her eyes.

The woman turned, a worried look on her face too. "Calm down, dear. Just let me explain."

The Headmaster seemed confused. "I'm confused," he confirmed. "Mrs. Sprout - "

_"Professor_ Sprout." She murmured absently.

"Right, yes,_ Professor_ Sprout, how do you know young Alex here?"

"Who is she? _What_ is she?!" Alex was still panicked. She wanted to run again, but she was scared that this 'Sprout' might pop up in her bedroom, or the bathroom, or wherever she tried to run. She cried a bit.

"We passed each other on the way here." Sprout answered the Headmaster, then spoke to Alex again. "Calm down, Alex. It's going to be okay. I'll explain everything." She turned to the Headmaster, showing him something. Alex leaned over to see, curious, though still fearful. It seemed to be… a letter. An old letter, too, or old paper at least. She'd never seen paper like it.

The Headmaster glanced at it. He seemed to calm down at the sight of it. "Ah." He whispered. "Ah." he repeated, nodding his head as if understanding. Alex desperately wanted that feeling right now.

"Then you understand?" Sprout said, matter-of-factly.

"Yes," the Headmaster agreed. "Two in two years, my word… There's more of you people all the time, aren't there?"

"That does tend to be the way of it." She said, rather sarcastically. "So. Will you tell Alex to calm down now?"

"I won't!" Alex cried out. "Not until you tell me how you - how you did _that!"_ Alex was having trouble describing exactly _what_ Professor Sprout had done, because she wasn't sure what Professor Sprout _had _done. Which was scary as well.

"I apparated." Sprout said. Then, after a pause, she seemed to realize that Alex didn't have any idea what the word meant. "It means I vanish, then reappear somewhere else."

"What?" Alex said. Her fear had been replaced with a kind of confused dullness. "People can't do that, can they? Headmaster-"

"Clover," the Headmaster sighed. "Do try to keep an open mind about all this. It is a bit… well." He seemed to be at a loss for words. "Sprout, can you please…"

Sprout nodded. "I suppose that's the best way of it." She walked slowly, non-threateningly, towards Alex. Sprout outstretched her hand. Alex tentatively took the old letter out of the Professor's hands, and began to read it. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…?" she muttered curiously. "Albus Dumbledore?"

"You read quickly," Sprout nodded. "Yes, witchcraft and wizardry. You may have experienced impossible events, like waking up in odd places, or seeing strange things." Alex hadn't, but she didn't say anything about it. "Well, here's the why of it. You, Alex Clover, are a witch."

Alex stared at her. The Headmaster also seemed a bit confused by this statement, but shrugged after a moment, as if not caring enough. He slouched back in his chair, looking very tired. Alex turned back to the letter, feeling very strange about something. She checked the top of the paper.

_Dear Ms. Clover, we are pleased to inform you that you have a place at… _

They knew. Her hands ceased shuddering. She stopped crying suddenly. They _knew._

"I'm afraid I've arrived a bit late," Sprout confessed, "There was some confusion over your location… But never mind all that. You'll have to pack today if you want to go, dear. I'll see to your school supplies, so don't you fuss."

"…witchcraft and wizardry…" Alex mumbled.

"What was that?" Sprout asked.

"Can witchcraft and wizardry… change people? Change the way they appear?" Alex asked.

Sprout nodded slowly. "In many ways, though some are more difficult than others." She tilted her head. "…Alex, dear, do you not like the way you look?"

Alex, after a pause, nodded her head very slightly. Odd, that Sprout wouldn't know that.

"Ah, you poor dear. I suppose you do look a bit boyish, but…" Sprout clucked in her throat. "Well, we'll see about that later. If you wish to come to Hogwarts, that is."

"I do!" Alex exclaimed, louder than intended. She quieted her excitement slightly. "I do."

Sprout smiled. "Wonderful. Would you like help packing your things?"

Alex nodded, her eyes open wide. _Witchcraft and wizardry…_ She wondered.

"Right, then. We'll be off, Headmaster." Sprout announced. "I trust you'll see to the paperwork."

The Headmaster looked irritated, but he nodded. "…yes, yes. I would appreciate _some_ help…"

"I'll send a message to the Headmaster." Sprout offered, then laughed. "Of Hogwarts, I mean. Albus Dumbledore. He'll help… I think."

"You _think?"_ The Headmaster grumbled.

"Yes, well." Professor Sprout ushered Alex out the door quickly. "We'll be going, I need to take Alex to get her things packed, all the best-" She rushed out and shut the door behind herself, leaving the Headmaster startled.

"…her?…" He wondered aloud, puzzled. Then he just shook his head, closed his eyes, and tried, not for the first time, to forget about how bizarre his small world seemed to get around this time of year. In this, as always, he was not successful.

* * *

Sprout really had been telling the truth when she said she'd help pack. Alex stared open-mouthed as all the possessions she had in the world were juggled around in the air and packed into bags at Sprout's direction. She remembered a scene from the film _Sword in the Stone_, where Merlin did the same thing, or something similar. She'd seen the film with her father. Thinking about her father made her feel sad, so she started thinking about whether Merlin was actually real. It wasn't too far-fetched, really. Not now.

"Professor Sprout?" She asked politely. "Is Merlin real?"

"He was, yes." Sprout informed her, still focusing on the task of packing.

Alex grinned from ear to ear.

"Fillius would laugh himself silly if he saw me doing this…" Sprout muttered to herself.

"Who?"

"Oh, Charms teacher, he's… well, you'll find out later, I think. Is that about everything?" She finished with a casual flick of her little stick thing, which, in thinking about it, Alex surmised was probably a wand.

"I think so." She gazed around her room one last time. There _was_ something she was forgetting, though. She couldn't tell what it was, however… Until it walked in.

"What's going on?" Steven asked. He gazed around. "Who's the lady with the stick?"

"It's not a _stick, _it's-" Sprout stopped herself. "It's a stick." She confirmed, with an unconvincing voice.

"Right." Steven raised an eyebrow. He turned his gaze on the packed bags. "Alex, what's all this?"

Alex wasn't sure what she could and couldn't tell him. She could only think of one excuse at that moment, too. "I got adopted."

"What?!" Steven was aghast. "You can't be - I won't - what?" He stammered. "You can't just _go!"_

"I'll miss you too." Alex smiled. She gave him a big hug. He returned it, a bit hesitantly. "Mates forever, right?"

"Yeah." He said, weakly. "Promise you'll call?"

"I'll try. I'll send you my new address, too, so we can send mail back and forth." Alex promised.

"Right." He seemed put off. "Are you really leaving?"

"Sorry."

"No, no, it's okay, I- I'm sorry, I just didn't…" He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, then exhaled. He opened his eyes and grinned. "Good luck, okay? You be happy, wherever you are." He hugged Alex again.

"You too." After a moment, Sprout put a hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex stared around the room one more time, then, with an unexpected sense of loss, she made her way out of the room. Steven stood, smiling weakly, and watched her go.

* * *

Sprout set Alex up in a small, dusty inn to wait while the Professor bought Alex's school supplies. The place Sprout had picked was called the 'Leaky Cauldron'. It also appeared to be a bar of some kind. Alex had hid herself behind Professor Sprout when they'd first entered it and she'd seen all the strange patrons. After a little while, she had gotten over the fear. Still, she felt strange about the place. From the outside, she hadn't noticed it at all. Even when it was pointed out, it took her a moment to see it when it was right in front of her. She wondered if she was just unobservant, or if it was magic. It was getting hard to tell what was magical and what wasn't anymore.

Her room was stuffy, hot, and a bit cramped. One small, sufficiently fluffy bed poked out of the corner. But she didn't care. She was happy. Happier than she could ever remember being. _I'm going to be a girl, for real, and everyone's going to know it. I'm also a witch and have magical powers. _These had been the greatest few days ever. The _greatest. _Feeling giddy, she flounced onto the bed and pulled the Hogwarts letter out of her pocket, partially wanting to try to mentally catch up with everything that had happened and pick through the letter, but mostly just wanting to see the words 'Ms. Clover' again. See them she did, and she felt a tickle of joy rush through her. She read the letter through twice, then let it rest on her stomach and stared up at the ceiling, lost in thoughts, full of hopes and dreams about the future.

Not wanting to get the letter damaged, she decided to pack it carefully away in her bag for safe-keeping. Maybe it was like an ID or something in Hogwarts. She couldn't be too careful-

And then she saw it.

It was written very neatly on the back of the letter, in the midsection of where it had been originally folded, in addition to the orphanage's address.

_Alexis Samantha Clover._

Alex's name, as it was, or maybe as it had been, was Alexander Clover. No middle names. At first, Alex considered it might just be a new name, invented for her newly recognized femininity. She'd personally considered Alexis, though she had favored Alexandria… The middle name was odd, yes, but maybe, _maybe…_ Then she remembered what Sprout had briefly mentioned before in the Headmaster's office, about having had 'confusion' over her location. Alex's heartbeat raced. Her skin felt cold, and she felt a terrible sinking sensation.

They had gotten it wrong. Somehow, they'd gotten it wrong. They'd picked the wrong girl. Alexis Clover, wherever she was, was _not_ Alex. And Alex… was not a witch. _Maybe you still are!_ Hoped a little voice in the back of her head, but it was a very, very tiny voice. Alex burst into tears. She felt horrible. She grabbed the pillow off the bed and sobbed for close to ten minutes straight. _I should have known. _She thought, spitefully._ I should have known I could never be special. A witch? Please. I had it right before. I'm not much of anything. What will they do when they find out? Will they make me forget?_ The idea horrified her. _Or… will they just apologize, and send me right back to where I came from?_ That idea felt even worse. Before, her life had been a barely tolerable mess. But now? Now that she'd seen what _could_ be, what was possible, a world of magic and possibilities, where she could change, be happy…

Something in her clicked. Her tears slowly ceased flowing. Her mind buzzed. _Who says they have to find out?_ A sly thought whispered. _Who says that anyone has to know you're not Alexis Samantha Clover?_

_But I'm not really a witch. I can't cast spells, or enchant things, or whatever else witches do._

_But other people are. And if you can get somebody else to help you, well, then, even if they find out, it will be too late. You'll be fixed. Made whole. Even if they send you back, that will stay._

_How could I fool anyone? They'll figure it out. I can't just hide it._

_You won't know until you try._

To this, she could find no counterpoint. She was already in for a penny. Why not a pound?

After a time, Alex smiled again. This time, though, the smile was smaller, more reserved. The emotion behind it was not the blind hope and joy of before. This time, it was a quiet, desperate hope, and a joy tempered by the knowledge that the future was only assured by her own ingenuity and resourcefulness. She had been given the opportunity to have what she'd always wanted to have, and she would do anything she could do to seize it. She just hoped that anything she could do would be enough.

* * *

Meanwhile, many kilometers away, an eleven-year-old girl named Alexis Samantha Clover was mentally comparing herself - quite favorably - to an atomic bomb.


	2. 2 Alexis Samantha Clover

Alexis Samantha Clover was not entirely _unlike_ an atomic bomb. Or unlike any bomb at all, considering the disasters and explosions that seemed to mysteriously occur around her, she was about as dangerous, or maybe even more so. It had started with a beaker in chemistry class. She swore to Mr. Fennings that the bunsen burner had been completely off, and that she was doing everything by the book. Then in the library, a bookshelf happened to completely burst and fly apart, scattering books everywhere. Once again, Alexis swore to the librarian that she hadn't even touched the bookshelf. Despite this, she somehow picked up a reputation for being a troublemaker, and when the blackboard suddenly cracked in half as she went up to write, she was assumed to be the cause, and punished accordingly with detention.

It wasn't _fair._ People had started avoiding her in class and out, for it was well known that desks lost screws and ink fell out of pens when Alexis Clover was around. One of her few friends stood up for her, only to find that their locker had somehow been flipped completely upside-down. Of course they blamed Alexis, though she had obviously denied it, in tears. _Not only is it not fair,_ she thought angrily, punching her pillow. _But it doesn't make any sense at all. _So she began to wonder who could be behind the utterly bizarre events that seemed to surround her, for the only answer that made sense was that there must be some sort of Conspiracy behind it. But how? And who? She was a _good_ girl. She would never try to hurt anybody, even through a stupid, silly prank.

Alexis Clover began to review how far back the Conspiracy must have started working against her. She supposed it must have been a few months ago, now, because she'd noticed that her luck had started to be incredibly awful since around last November. She stopped playing card games with her father, which used to be a favorite pastime of theirs, because she always seemed to get bum hands. Her father had assured her that it was just bad luck, but even he had been confused after she'd gone over a dozen hands without ever being able to beat him.

She'd at first thought he might have been playing a joke on her, but then her bad luck started popping up everywhere. Somehow a wild owl had burst into her bedroom late at night - despite her house being in the middle of London. She had tripped on something that wasn't there and had ended up locked in an empty office blocks away from where she had been, though the baffled clerk hadn't believed her the next morning. When she had visited the zoo, a giant snake had mysteriously escaped its cage, though by this time her parents had been smart enough at least to grab her and run at the sight of it.

None of it made sense, unless there was a Conspiracy. Or some sort of a mystical curse. But magic wasn't real - unless that was _part _of the Conspiracy_. _But no, no, that would be silly. She should keep her mind on the explanation that made _sense - _namely, that there was some gigantic, invisible Conspiracy bent on making Alexis Clover's life as unpleasant as possible. She sighed, laying back. The Conspiracy had been successful. Her life had been awful ever since her parents had moved to London - at least in America, she wasn't just the 'weird American'. She wanted to scream, but instead she decided, as she often did, that she'd just go for a walk. She liked to walk; in America, she'd been able to run around in the countryside as much as she'd wanted, but at her new home her parents forbade her from straying too far from the house.

She put on her coat and looked herself over. She looked boyish, not that she cared too much. Her parents had to force her to brush her hair because she would so often forget, and she used to get scrapes and cuts climbing trees and running around barefoot. _I guess I'm not exactly a girly-girl. _She shrugged. _Whatever. _She put on her boots and left, telling her mother where she was going. Her mother nodded absently, then went back to her books. Her mother loved to read, and often tried to share that passion with her daughter. Unfortunately, Alexis had always thought books were boring. She still thought that, though of course she had to read for school sometimes, which annoyed her. She left the house, trying to get her mind off of the Conspiracy and how awful-

"Would you like a sandwich when you get back, button?" her father called after her, using his nickname for her. _"My little button," _he often called her.

"Yes please!" she yelled back, politely. Where was she… oh yes. _My life is awful. _she thought.

She walked around the neighborhood, the perfect image of a disgruntled child. _I'm not a child, though. _She thought, annoyed. _Even if everyone thinks I am. I'm eleven. I'm smart-_

"Alex?" an unsure voice from nearby called out. She looked up. A sandy-haired tall boy who looked about her own age was looking oddly at her, head tilted.

"Who are you?" She asked, worried. "How do you know my name?" Then she wondered if the _do not talk to strangers _rule applied to people her own age. She decided it didn't.

"What do you mean, Alex? We're mates." the boy said, approaching. "You said you'd call. Is everything okay?"

"Who are you?" She repeated, firmly, backing away slightly.

"…Steven." Steven said, eyebrows raised. "How could you not remember me? You just left the other day."

"I've never seen you before!" She said loudly. "Weirdo." She added afterwards, for emphasis.

"Hey, mate, come on-" Steven said, reaching out.

Alexis ran. She didn't stop running until she was back at home, in her bedroom, with the door closed. She wheezed, falling forwards onto the bed with a '_flump'_. She punched her pillow and made an angry noise. It was sort of like a tiny growl.

Was this some new part of the Conspiracy? Strange boys that she didn't know, but who knew her? Why couldn't her world just be normal and quiet, for _one day?!_

Someone knocked on her door. "Alexis? Are you okay? You ran by so fast-"

"I'm fine, dad." She said miserably. "…Can I have that sandwich now?"

"Er," Her father said anxiously. "Sorry, button, but the bread all went moldy. Strangest thing, it was fine when I bought it yesterday…"

Alexis Samantha Clover put her pillow to her face and screamed.

* * *

Alex Clover stood in front of a strange shop, in a strange place. She was surrounded by animals and wizards of all sizes and shapes. Wizards, witches, and she thought she saw something like an ogre or troll trudge by out of the corner of her. She was having trouble listening to Professor Sprout through all the bustle and noise, but she tried as hard as she could. _What if she's saying something like 'if one were to pretend to be a witch, they wouldn't do this and that.'? _She berated herself inside. _You have to be alert now, Alex. No, _she corrected herself. _Alexis. Alexis Samantha Clover. That's your name._

"…best in the world, right here." Sprout was saying, a satisfied look on her face.

"What was that, Professor?" Alex asked politely. "I didn't hear you."

Sprout looked a bit put off. "I was _saying, _Ollivander's is the best wand shop in the world."

Alex froze. "Wand seller?"

"Well, of course, dear. I can do the rest of your shopping for you, but I felt like you might need to do this part yourself…" She smiled nicely.

Alex shook her head quickly. "No, no, it's really okay. You can do it for me."

"I'm not sure I can, Alex." She said, face strange. "Different wands pick different people, you see."

"What?" Alex said, bemused. "Don't you mean that the other way around?"

"I'm fairly sure I didn't, Miss Clover." She said, stiffly. "Now come on, don't stall, we don't want you to miss the Sorting ceremony."

"The _what?"_ Alex asked.

"Never mind." Sprout said, shaking her head. "We'll get to it later. For now…" She took Alex by the shoulders and firmly steered her into the shop.

Alex's eyes widened. The place was practically a warehouse with a desk placed haphazardly near the door. Everywhere she looked, on shelves reaching from the roof to ground, were what looked like piles and piles of shoeboxes.

"Do they sell shoes, too?" She murmured, weakly.

"What?" Professor Sprout said, confused. "Ah, there he is."

A small man stepped out from behind a bookshelf only a few steps away. Alex jumped; she couldn't help it. She hadn't noticed him at all, and the man was - well, Alex hesitated to think of him as _crusty, _since she felt that was rude, but he was. Where Sprout had seemed like a homeless woman, Ollivander seemed to remind her of a fancy drunkard. Flushed and a bit greasy-looking, but dressed and presenting as some sort of philosopher or composer or some other kind of important person you'd see in old photographs.

"Dear me," He whispered. "If it isn't Pomona Sprout… Oak, with a core of kelpie mane, if I recall? My father's work, not mine."

Sprout blinked. "Er, yes." She confirmed, surprised. "But that was decades ago. I'm here for Miss Clover today." She scooted Alex forward, towards the odd man.

"Uh… Hello." Alex mumbled nervously. "I, um, I need a wand."

Ollivander stared down at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Oh? Do you, then? How interesting." He spoke the words in a breathy, curious voice. Alex suddenly felt very nervous under his gaze.

Sprout seemed impatient. "Well, get on with it, then." After a pause, she added "Please".

"Very well." He said, with a small smile. He grabbed a box from behind him so suddenly and so quickly that it made Alex jump again. "Perhaps we might start with this? Pine and unicorn hair, very sturdy." He opened offered it to Alex. She reached out, shakily, and took it. Sprout and Ollivander stared at her expectantly. Alex's eyes darted between them, clueless.

"Try to do something, dear." Sprout said, good-naturedly. "You've got to test the magic."

"Indeed." Ollivander said, that small, sly smile still on his face. His expression worried Alex.

"Uh… Abracadabra?" As she said it, the other two jumped about a foot, and Sprout yanked the wand out of Alex's hands with such force that Alex thought she might have gotten a splinter.

"How _could _you, you foolish…!" Sprout yelled at Alex. "For your _very first_ spell, even?! Reckless! _Dangerous!_ Completely unconscionable!" She roared. Alex started to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Alex sobbed, panic in her voice. "What did I do? What did I _do?"_

"The killing curse, as a _warm-up?! _Who do you think-"

"Pomona," Ollivander said gently, putting a hand on the flustered Sprout's shoulder. "I don't believe Miss Clover intended any harm. Nor was any done." He gestured at the unchanged environment.

Sprout hesitated, her face still angered. Staring down at the terrified girl in front of her, Sprout's rage seemed to fade. With a frown, she knelt and began to speak again, much more quietly this time. "Alex, dear, promise me now you will _never_ say those words, or anything _close_ to them, ever again. _Especially_ when you are holding a wand. It would be very, _very_ dangerous. Are we clear?"

Alex nodded fervently, wiping her tears on her sleeve.

"Good." She smiled. "I'm sorry for yelling." She stood again, turning to Ollivander. "Apologies. So, what price would you-"

"Oh, no, no…" Ollivander shook his head. "It's my gift to Miss Clover." Alex looked up at this, mouth open.

_"Really?" _She whispered.

"It's all yours." He affirmed. "I merely ask that it be returned to me should you ever…" He paused mid-sentence, thinking about something before continuing. "…should you ever cease to require its use." He finished, a gleam in his eyes.

Alex nodded, a bit confused by the oddness of the man. Sprout didn't seem to notice anything strange, however, so she assumed it must just be Ollivander's normal eccentricity. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

"Indeed, very generous." Sprout nodded, eyebrow raised. "We'll be off, then."

Ollivander bid them farewell. Once he was sure they had gone, he quietly sat down in his chair and laughed as hard as he ever had. _A muggle girl at Hogwarts,_ he thought, tears in his eyes from laughter. _Who am I to stop that ridiculous tale short?_ His laughter slowly ceased, but the merriment did not. As he heard the door open, he composed himself again, returning to his work. But for the next few days, in the corner of his mind, the wandmaker would be jovially estimating, guessing, wondering at how long he would have to wait before a certain wand would be returned to his shop.


	3. 3 Princess Lizard Wizard

"Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" Alex tilted her head. "Do platforms work like that?"

"They do, yes." Sprout confirmed. "Well, some of them."

"Okay." Alex said. "So where is it?"

"Just ahead a bit. Come along now." Sprout marched on ahead, quickly. Alex ran to catch up, hauling along her small load of assorted supplies, clothes, and so on. She'd also been given a small ferret by Sprout, who Alex had, after a bit of thought named Steve. _Mates forever. _She thought to herself, grinning. She'd changed it slightly so it wouldn't be too confusing.

Sprout stopped, abruptly, and Alex almost crashed into her. Sprout seemed to have arrived at her destination, but nothing _magical_ seemed to be immediately obvious. Alex's head swiveled, looking around everywhere. But there was nothing. "Professor?"

"Just through the barrier, Alex." She strutted forward, towards a wall -

Alex yelled as Sprout vanished. She received some odd looks from passersby, but otherwise nobody seemed to have noticed. She walked up to the wall and placed a hand on it. _Just a wall._ She confirmed shakily. _Isn't it?_

She yelled again when Sprout's head popped through the wall, wearing an irritated expression. "Well? Come along, then." And she vanished into the wall again.

Alex wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She looked around nervously for someone to help, but it didn't seem like anybody except her was looking at the wall that was _not _a wall. _Maybe…_ She wondered, mind racing. _Maybe I have to… _

She closed her eyes, put her hand on the wall, and pretended the wall wasn't there.

She felt her whole body fall forwards as her arm's support vanished. She managed to catch herself, just barely, and opened her eyes. Her jaw dropped just a bit. _This _was Platform Nine and Three Quarters, all right. A massive train, surrounded by dozens of families, and each student with their complement of supplies. But where had it all been kept? Surely not all of it was in the barrier alone… But then she saw Sprout over by the train, beckoning her forwards. Alex rushed over, still a bit dazed.

"You're almost free of me now, dear." She grinned. "Once we get onto the train, I'll have to attend to some overdue class-preparation, so I'll have leave you to the mercies of the prefects, should you need help with that. You'll want to change into your uniform on the train, and if you have time, I'd suggest reading up a bit - all the other muggleborn children have had much more time to read, as we were a bit rushed, but I'm sure you'll catch up." She gave Alex a small hug. "Is there anything else you need, dear?"

_Magical powers and a slightly different anatomy. _"No, I think I'm ready."

"Well, then, it was a pleasure, Miss Clover. I hope to see you in class." She left, hopping onto the train and into the carriage with one smooth motion.

Alex felt very odd, being alone. The weight of feigning magic seemed to drag her down, now that Sprout was no longer keeping Alex distracted. _I'm eleven. _She thought. _I hope eleven isn't too young to be maintaining a charade - Or is it facade? I always get those two mixed up. _She hoped she wouldn't mess up out of ignorance like in Ollivander's. Sprout was right about studying. If she messed up a mandatory spell or wasn't able to enchant her wand or whatever, she could be found out in an instant, and all of her hopes and dreams would die on the spot. Maybe she would die, too. Who knows how harsh magic-people were about keeping secrets?

Noticing that other students had started getting onto the train, she dumbly did the same, anxiously wondering if this train ride would be as close as she ever got to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Moments later, however, her skin had turned green and scaly, which somewhat diverted her attention.

* * *

Alexis Samantha Clover was spending the day doing absolutely nothing at all, for fear of having her activities hijacked by the Conspiracy and turned against her. She was extremely frustrated with having to lay on her bed wasting time, but she kept having her hobbies turn against her. Drawing had given her paper cuts. Calling one of her few friends to talk had led to her getting electrically shocked by the phone, which had mysteriously malfunctioned. When she had tried to watch television, the television had actually _exploded,_ sending shards of glass everywhere and briefly setting fire to the carpet. Luckily her mother had been quick enough to douse it with her tea, but the television remained exploded. Alexis had started worrying about her parents would start thinking _she_ was the one doing this, like everyone at school had eventually decided.

She wanted to cry. And Alexis Samantha Clover did not cry easily, or often. But the Conspiracy, if there _was_ a Conspiracy, had won. Her life was getting worse and worse each day. Maybe by the time school started up again, she'd have to always be in a giant hamster-ball filled with pillows in order to avoid exploding the teacher or whatever. She just didn't know what she could do anymore, so she decided to do nothing at all. At least this way, nothing _bad _could happen to her.

Then the door to her room swung open, and Steven walked in.

Alexis jumped to her feet, ready to scream. Steven rushed forward, covering her mouth with his hand. _"Mmmmf!" _

"Calm down, I told your parents I'm a friend, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you - _ow!"_ he yelped. He yanked his hand back, now sporting a set of teeth-marks. Alexis spat out a bit of Steven's blood.

_"What do you want from me?" _She hissed. And, realizing Steven must be part of the Conspiracy, Alexis took the opportunity to interrogate him. "What do any of you want with me? I'm not a global power, or a superhero or, or _anything! _Just leave me _alone! _And stop blowing up everything!"

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Steven cried out. "Alex, what _happened _to you, man?"

"What _happened _was-" She stopped. "'Man?'"

"What?" Steven mumbled, wiping his bleeding hand on his sleeve. "What, would you prefer I say _buddy_ or _lad_ or whatever? _You_ just _bit_ me, that's hardly friendly discourse!"

"Uh," She said bluntly. "I'm a girl."

Steven was baffled. "No you're not."

"I really am, though."

"Alex, we've been together long enough for me to know your sex." He said carefully.

"I've never _met_ you!" She hissed. "Crazy person!"

"Alex… Do you remember your name, at least? Can you tell me that?" He asked, very scared.

"Alexis Samantha Clover." She recited immediately. "Happy?"

Steven seemed horrified. "What have they _done_ to you?"

"Who? The Conspiracy, or whatever they're called? They've attacked me with owls and snakes, they've blown up my television, and they're trying to pin it all on _me!_ But you should know! You _work _for them, don't you?" Her face felt hot.

"What? No - Conspiracy, what?" Steven grabbed her arm. "This is insane. I'm getting you out of here. There's _clearly_ something wrong going on in this house. Come on."

_"No!" _She shrieked in panic. "Leave me _alone!"_

Alexis blinked.

She blinked again.

The spot where Steven had just been standing was now completely empty.

At the same time, eight blocks away from Alexis's house, Steven found himself standing on a busy sidewalk, his outstretched hand clutching nothing at all.

* * *

Alex Clover screeched when she saw her skin was now green and covered with scales. She started scraping at her arms in a panic, staring, horrified - and then her skin was back to normal, and Alex was very, very confused.

"I'd say he's a sufficiently spooked wizard." Said a jocular voice from behind her and to the right.

"I think he's more of a lizard." Said an identical voice from behind her and to the left.

"Compromise, then, he's -" Started one.

"- a lizard wizard." Finished the other.

Alex turned to see two grinning, red-haired boys who looked identical to each other. "What?"

"He seems a bit confused, George."

"Might even be a bit bemused, too, Fred."

"What?" Alex repeated, both confused and bemused.

They looked at each other. "I don't think the rhyming works."

"I agree."

"Much funner without."

"Much." Said… Fred? "Hello, lizard wizard. I'm George Weasley, and he's Fred Weasley."

"Liar," Said… George? "He's Fred, I'm George. Pleased to meet you."

"Uh." Suddenly Alex realized they'd both been calling her 'he'. _Of course. Idiot. Just because Sprout 'mistook' you for a girl doesn't mean everyone else immediately will. _She was, of course, still dressed in her old clothes, all of which were boy's clothes. Her hair was a bit long, but it was also ratty. At this point in most previous situations, she had generally acquiesced to what others thought of her, and would became 'Alexander'._ But… Then somebody might figure out I'm not 'Alexis'._ Alex realized what she had to say, and she grinned, because she'd been waiting to say it (and be believed) for as long as she could remember.

"Actually, I'm a girl." She said, forcing her voice to stay steady. "My name's Alexis Samantha Clover. Pleased to meet you."

Fred and George stared at each other again. Then they mock-swooned in tandem. "Oh, but how could we not have noticed-"

"-such a vision of loveliness-"

"-truly a stunning beauty-"

"-practically a fairy-tale princess-"

"-our dearest apologies, o _Princess_ Lizard Wizard." They said at the same time, bowing.

"Oh, shut up." Alex said, hearing their obvious sarcasm. Still, she was smiling. Then she heard someone yelling from behind her, and turned to see a first-year boy hopping around with what appeared to be duck feet.

"Ooh, chaos." Said Fred. "Our clarion call."

"Who could _possibly_ be behind it?" Asked George innocently, but his face wore a devilish grin.

"See you later, Princess Lizard Wizard." And off they went.

"Not if I see you first!" Alex called after them, but in a good-natured way. They reminded her quite a lot of Steven when he was being his silliest, though the twins were obviously quite a bit more striking with their jokes. _People use magic for everything in this world, don't they?_ Alex realized. After a moment, Alex also realized she was standing in the middle of the train with all of her things, and that she should probably find a free room before they all filled up. Magical people seemed (so far) to be very friendly, so she probably didn't have to worry about sharing with people. She picked the closest door and opened it.

"Who in the name of _Merlin_ are _you_ supposed to be?" Said a sneering boy with blonde hair.


End file.
